UNITED STATES WOMEN'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Dates: August 19-24
Venue: West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills, New York
Surface: Grass
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Singles (Draw=64)
1st Round
Helen Wills [1] d. Katherine Lamarche 6-0 6-0
Charlotte Chapin d. Elizabeth Corbiere 8-6 6-1
Alice Francis d. Dorothy Letson 6-0 6-0
Martha Guild d. Olive Wade (Can) [6] 10- 8 6-2
Midge Gladman [8] d. Margaret Blake 6-0 6-2
Marjorie Sachs d. Jean Burritt (Can) 6-0 6-2
Mianne Palfrey d. Elizabeth Warren 6-4 4-6 6-4
Peggy Michell (GB) [3F] d. Eleanora Sears 6-1 6-4
Molla Mallory [4] d. Andrea Dorr 6-4 6-2
Hildegarde Taylor d. Doris Balk 6-2 6-2
Dorothy Blodgett d. Eleanor Holton 6-4 6-3
Virginia Hilleary d. Julie Stenz 2-6 6-2 6-3
May Sutton Bundy [5] d. Catherine Jones 6-0 6-1
Helen Marlowe d. Ruth Shedden 6-3 6-2
Gertrude Dwyer d. Mrs. O. E. Gray (Can) 6-0 6-3
Betty Nuthall (GB) [1F] d. Cecelia Riegel 6-2 6-2
Helen Jacobs [2] d. Penelope Anderson 8-6 6-4
Eleanor Goss d. Virginia Rice 7-5 6-4
Ellice Endicott d. Gladys Hutchings (Ber) 10-8 6-1
Phyllis Covell (GB) [4] d. Mrs. D. A. Alston 6-1 6-0
Mary Greef [6] d. Dorothy Andrus 9-7 6-4
Clara Greenspan d. Carolyn Swartz 6-0 6-3
Sarah Palfrey d. Ruth Bailey 6-3 6-1
Dorothy Shepherd-Barron (GB) [5F] d. Anne Page 6-3 6-0
Edith Cross [3] d. Marian Hunt 6-1 6-0
Marie Fensterer d. Marguerite Falkenburg 6-3 6-3
Lillian Hester d. Tackan Thomasson 6-1 6-4
Clara Zinke d. Carolin Babcock 6-1 6-1
Anna Harper[7] d. Anna Hubbard 6-3 6-1
Marjorie Morrill d. Ethel Burkhardt 8-6 6-3
Agnes Lamme d. Evelyn Parson 6-3 6-1
Phoebe Watson (GB) [2F] d. Josephine Cruickshank 6-1 6-1
2nd Round
Wills [1] d. Chapin 6-1 6-0.
Francis d. Guild 2-6 6-1 6-1.
Gladman [8] d. Sachs 6-3 7-5.
Michell [3F] d. M. Palfrey 6-4 6-3
Mallory [4] d. Taylor 6-2 6-1.
Hilleary d. Blodgett 6-0 6-0.
Sutton [5] d. Marlowe 5-7 8-6 6-2.
Nuthall [1F] d. Dwyer 6-3 6-1
Jacobs [2] d. Goss 6-0 6-4.
Covell [4F] d. Endicott 6-1 6-2.
Greef [6] d. Greenspan 6-0 6-3.
S Palfrey d. Shepherd-Barron [5F] 8-10 6-0 6-4
Cross [3] d. Fensterer 6-3 3-6 6-2.
Hester d. Zinke 3-6 10-8 7-5.
Harper [7] d. Morrill 6-1 6-1.
Watson [2F] d. Lamme 6-2 6-0.
3rd Round
Wills [1] d. Francis 6-0 6-0.
Michell [3F] d. Gladman [8] 4-6 6-0 6-1
Mallory [4] d. Hilleary 6-0 7-5.
Nuthall [1F] d. Sutton [5] 7-5 6-1
Jacobs [2] d. Covell [4F] 10-8 6-2.
Greef [6] d. S Palfrey 6-3 6-2
Cross [3] d. Hester 6-2 6-2.
Watson [2F] d. Harper [7] 11-9 6-4
Quarterfinals
Wills [1] d. Michell [3F] 6-0 6-1.
Mallory [4] d. Nuthall [1F] 6-3 6-3
Jacobs [2] d. Greef [6] 6-2 6-2.
Watson [2F] d. Cross [3] 2-6 6-1 6-3
Semifinals
Wills [1] d. Mallory [4] 6-0 6-0.
Watson [2F] d. Jacobs [2] 6-1 3-6 6-4
Final
Helen Wills [1] d. Phoebe Watson [2F] 6-4 6-2
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Doubles (Draw=32)
1st Round
Edith Cross/Anna Harper [1] d. Mrs O. E. Gray (Can)/Olive Wade (Can) 6-1 6-2
Carolin Babcock/Helen Marlowe d. Gertrude Dwyer/Hildegarde Taylor 6-8 6-4 6-2
Evelyn Parsons/Virginia Rice d. Alice Francis/Julie Stenz 6-3 12-10
Margaret Blake/Anna Hubbard d. Ethel Burkhardt/Mary Greef 6-3 7-5
Charlotte Chapin/Midge Gladman [4] d. Clara Greenspan/Elizabeth Warren 7-5 6-4
Penelope Anderson/Martha Guild d. Virginia Hilleary/Anne Page 3-6 8-6 6-0
May Sutton Bundy/Josephine Cruickshank d. Mrs Charles H. Hitchcock/Marie Wagner 6-1 6-1
Phyllis Covell (GB)/Dorothy Shepherd-Barron (GB) [1F] d. Vandy Hall/Gladys Hutchings (Ber) 6-0 6-1
Helen Jacobs/Betty Nuthall (GB) [2] d. Mrs Bennett Bronson/Ina Eaton default
Marguerite Falkenberg/Mrs H. H. Walsh d. Doris Balk/Katherine Lamarche 6-4 6-4
Mrs DA Alston/Dorothy Letson d. Dorothy Blodgett/Ruth Sheddon 7-5 6-4
Mianne Palfrey/Sarah Palfrey d. Ruth Bailey/Carolyn Swartz 9-7 9-7
Marjorie Morrill/Hazel Wightman [3] d. Marian Hunt/Clara Zinke 4-6 6-4 6-3
Dorothy Andrus/Eleanor Goss d. Elizabeth Corbiere/Ellice Endicott 6-3 6-2
Mrs Theodore De M. Johnson/Grace Surber d. Eleanor Holton/Marjorie Sachs 6-1 6-1
Peggy Michell (GB)/Phoebe Watson (GB) [2F] d. Lilian Hester/Agnes Lamme 6-1 6-1
2nd Round
Cross/Harper [1] d. Babcock/Marlowe 6-2 6-1
Blake/Fuller Hubbard d. Parsons/Rice 6-1 7-5
Chapin/Gladman [4] d. Anderson/Guild 7-5 4-6 6-4
Covell/Shepherd Barron [1F] d. Bundy/Cruickshank 6-0 6-3
Jacobs/Nuthall [2] d. Falkenberg/Walsh 6-0 6-0
M Palfrey/S Palfrey d. Alston/Letson 6-3 6-3
Morrill/Wightman [3] d. Andrus/Goss 6-1 6-4
Michell/Watson [2F] d. Johnson/Surber 6-0 6-2
Quarterfinals
Cross/Harper [1] d. Blake/Hubbard 4-6 6-2 6-3
Covell/Shepherd-Barron [1F] d. Chapin/Gladman [4] 6-0 6-1
Jacobs/Nuthall [2] d. M Palfrey/S Palfrey 6-3 8-6
Michell/Watson [2F] d. Morrill/Wightman [3] 6-1 6-3
Semifinals
Covell/Shepherd-Barron [1F] d. Cross/Harper [1] 1-6 6-4 6-2
Michell/Watson [2F] d. Jacobs/Nuthall [2] 9-11 6-3 6-4
Final
Peggy Michell /Phoebe Watson [1F] d. Phyllis Covell/Dorothy Shepherd-Barron [2F] 2-6 6-3 6-4
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Draw Notes:
There were 14 seeds-8 Domestic and 6 foreign. Foreign seeds are denoted with an F after the seeding, for example [1F]=the #1 foreign seed.
Domestic Seeds
1. Helen Wills
2. Helen Jacobs
3. Edith Cross
4. Molla Mallory
5. May Sutton Bundy
6. Mary Greef
7. Anna McCune Harper
8. Marjorie "Midge" Gladman
Foreign Seeds (all seeds from Great Britain except for Olive Wade)
1. Betty Nuthall
2. Phoebe Holcroft Watson
3. Peggy Saunders Michell
4. Phyllis Covell
5. Dorothy Shepherd-Barron
6. Olive Wade (Canada)
Comments on some players
Tiny Alston=Mrs D. A. Alston
Ruth Bailey is from St. Louis
Andrea Dorr=Mrs G. H. Dorr
Vandy Cape Hall=Mrs Hall
Katherine Lamarche is from Shrewsburh, New Jersey.
Missing full names for:
Mrs Bennett Bronson (doubles only)
Mrs O. E. Gray is from Canada
Mrs Charles H. Hitchcock (doubles only)
Mrs Theodore De M. Johnson (doubles only)
Mrs H. H. Walsh
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Sources:
The New York Times
"TRIES TO FORCE WAY TO HELEN WILLS'S HOME."
New York Times (1923-Current file): 32. Aug 13 1929.
ProQuest. Web. 16 Oct. 2016 .
"Miss Wills Out of National Tennis Doubles, Adhering to Policy of Restricting Play."
New York Times (1923-Current file): 30. Aug 20 1929.
ProQuest. Web. 16 Oct. 2016 . [Provides doubles seeding]
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, August 14, 1929, p6 [Our source for the singles seeding]
Thanks to Wolbo for the seeding list.
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Summary:
There was a good field with 5 top notch Brits because of the Wightman Cup.
The oldest entry is May Sutton, who was US champ in 1904! This is her last US Nationals at age 42.
At the start of the championships only Betty Nuthall and Helen Jacobs were thought to have a chance against Wills, the overwhelming betting favorite. Oddly enough they are slated to meet in the semis, for despite both being seeded #1 (Nuthall is the top foreign seed) they are not automatically placed on opposite sides of the draw. Betty recently gave Wills a scare in the Wightman Cup matches. The 8-6 8-6 score in that match is the biggest challenge Wills has faced all year.
Two days before the event a man who wrote threatening letters to Helen broke into the house of her parents in California and briefly fought with her father. Identified as John Bowden, he ran into nearly woods, eluding police. Helen had no comment on the affair.
A larger than normal crowd comes on opening day, when Wills blasts past poor Katherine Lamarche in only 18 minutes.
On day two 2,500 witness another Wills blowout, but a new star is born when pretty and pert 16 year old Sarah Palfrey upsets veteran Dorothy Shepherd-Barron 6-8 6-0 6-4. Sarah's bold volleying only adds to her appeal. Mrs Hester comes back from 1-5 down in her match to win over Clara Zinke 3-6 10-8 7-5. Zinke got tired towards the end from rushing the net.
On day 3 fans abandon the stadium to watch young Sarah again. Today she was hitting errors rather than winners, and went down tamely to #6 seed Mary Greef 6-3 6-2. With the exception of Palfrey's upset of Shepherd-Barron all the favorites are in the quarterfinals. Here the match of the round is Molla Mallory easily beating favored Betty Nuthall. 4,000 cheer the swarthy Molla to a 6-3 6-3. Molla "did nothing but knock the cover off the ball" write Alison Danzig of the Times. The bandage on her knee didn't affect her at all. The crowd was torn, loving "Bounding Betty" and hoping for a match the next round with Wills. Molla's defense and fighting spirit prevail, and she has most of the crowd in her corner . On winning the stadium "fairly rocked with cheers." Nuthall was undone in large part by 30 out balls and 5 double faults.
With 3 courts in the stadium enclosure more than one match can be played at the same time. Edith Cross vs Phoebe Watson is on court at the same time as Mallory-Nuthall. Cross hits harder but made more errors in a close third set. Wills runs through Mrs Michell in short order by dropping only 1 game.
If the 7,000 attending hope Molla Mallory can turn back the clock vs her younger foe then Helen Wills quickly disabuses them. In 21 minutes she brutalized Molla 6-0 6-0. This is Mallory's worst defeat in all her career. She couldn't hit a single winner, an unheard of statistic for her. The first set lasted all of 8 minutes-with Wills losing only 5 points. Mallory at least got to deuce in the second set, and even had three game points . Wills won "with no more dislay of emotion than a machine would have shown."
Helen Jacobs is expected to meet Wills in the final, but she can't quite close the door when she had 2 points point to go up 4-2 in the last set. Mrs Phoebe Watson finds a second wind turned the tide with 11 consecutive points. The English women keeps better length and pace with her forehand down the stretch.
9,000 saw the finals. Filing in they must have anticipated a massacre, as Wills has lost a mere 2 games in 5 matches. What a joy then to have Mrs Watson throw down the gauntlet by smacking the hell out of every forehand, hitting even harder than Wills. The stands were "fairly in a frenzy of delight" as Watson drew even at 2 game all after a long game lasting 16 points. Eventually Wills wore down Watson, who earned the fans appreciation for winning more games than her other 5 opponents combined. A 6-4 6-2 defeat to Helen Wills was more than respectable.
The box scores showed 15 winners for Watson to only 6 for Wills. Watson also committed 63 errors however, while Wills only had 37. Helen's superior serve, stamina, and defense won her a match that saw her in the rare position of being retriever rather than aggressor.
Helen Wills and Hazel Wightman do not defend their title together. as Hazel announces she will play with Marjorie Morrill. They lose early. Wills was expected to enter the doubles but demurred at the last minute. Phoebe Watson gets some consolation for losing the singles final by taking the doubles with Peggy Michell. Michell scores at net and lets Watson stay more at the baseline. The pair come back from a 2-4 deficit in the final set to overcome compatriots Phyllis Covell and Dorothy Shepherd-Barron.